


Shuttle

by Avirra



Series: An Unholy Alliance [4]
Category: Star Trek : Mirror-verse, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Mirror Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-27
Updated: 2013-06-27
Packaged: 2017-12-16 09:10:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/860427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avirra/pseuds/Avirra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mirror-verse :  James Kirk and Leonard McCoy meet for the first time as Pike watches in the background.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shuttle

**Author's Note:**

> As a note, in my version of the Mirror-verse, the emphasis is on political maneuvering and manipulation rather than on violence and sex - though violence and sex are both certainly have their places (nothing overly graphic). Think in terms of more Machiavelli and less Caligula. Some cursing is also present.

Kirk arrived at 0730 for the shuttle, driving his bike up to the gate. The guard gave him a dubious look, but saw where Pike had added Kirk's name to the list of personnel authorized to enter the area. As he motioned Kirk in, he commented.

"Nice ride you have."

Smirking, Kirk tossed him the keys.

"You can have it. Not like I can take it with me."

Besides, it was stolen. That fact wasn't Kirk's problem any longer though.

He was still showing the cuts and bruises from the bar fight as he strolled over toward the shuttle, his single bag slung over his shoulder. Pike spotted him and waved him over.

"The flight will be much more comfortable if your ankle isn't being fried the whole way. Put your foot up here, James."

All too happy to be getting rid of the device, Kirk sat his foot on top of the indicated box and the band fell to the ground a few seconds later.

"You and another cadet were a little late to the party, so I've sent your sizes into the Academy. Your uniforms will be waiting on you when you arrive. Follow me, we'll finish up your papers and get you onboard."

By the time they were finished, it was less than ten minutes until the shuttle's liftoff. Kirk boarded, looking over the others already seated. The group that had been in the bar were all there and very subdued. Of course, that was probably due to the fact that they knew they had a session in the agony booth waiting for them at the other end. He wondered if any of them had even been in the booth before. In the case of a couple of them, he doubted it.

There were three open seats left, Kirk picked the middle one. Just as he was about to strap in, an argument broke out in the back. The first voice was unknown to him, but the second was definitely Pike's.

"No. I am **way** too sober for this."

"Blame your metabolism. But sober or not, we're about to leave. Go on, just keep telling yourself two things."

"What two things?"

"Beats starving on the side of the road. And your flask is full."

"You could've just gone with number two."

When the first voice came into sight, Kirk chuckled. He was no longer the scruffiest looking person on the shuttle. The newcomer had several days worth of stubble and, from the stains on his clothing, Kirk was afraid that he'd reek. That was the first pleasant surprise. The clothing was worn, torn and stained, but clean. The man himself smelled of a not-too bad mix of some sort of citrusy soap and bourbon.

As the only two remaining seats were on either side of Kirk, there really wasn't any question that the newcomer was going to be at his side. Despite the lack of bad odor, Kirk was still somewhat leery.

"You don't get airsick, do you?"

"Only when airborne. You should be pleased to know that I skipped anything solid for breakfast, but there is still the chance I might throw up on you."

"I wouldn't advise it. Why the hell does flying get you all worked up? These thing are pretty safe."

"Really? And just how many shuttle wrecks have you been at, kid? I've been to dozens. My father was called out on those things more times than I could count. And half the time, he'd drag me to them with him."

"What was your dad? The coroner?"

"No - he was a doctor. Mind you, a coroner would have been a helluva lot more useful in most of those cases."

Kirk's interest was mildly stirred.

"So, does that mean you're a doctor yourself?"

Just as the man was about to answer, a shudder went through the shuttle as it began to take-off. When Kirk saw the white knuckles, he knew that the man hadn't been exaggerating his fear of flying.

Once the shuddering died down, the man's eyes stayed closed, but he reached into a pocket and pulled out flask, smoothly opening it and taking a drink. Then his eyes slowly reopened and he gave Kirk a wry look before offering him the flask.

"Here, kid. If you have to sit through this flight wondering if I'm going to puke on you, you might as well have a little of the good along with the bad."

Pike was watching everything in the passenger hold over monitors and the scene between McCoy and Kirk had him riveted. When Kirk took the offered flask and gulped down a quick drink, the shark smile appeared again. Well, well. How very interesting. He continued to watch as Kirk passed the flask back.

"Damn. That's the good stuff."

Quirking a smile as he took his flask back, McCoy introduced himself.

"Leonard McCoy."

"James Kirk. So - how does a doctor that's afraid of flying end up in Starfleet?"

"You know, I never confirmed that I was a doctor.”

“Looking like you do and still being on this shuttle means you must have something going for you.”

“Touché’. Same could be said of you. Since I’m outted as a doctor, why don’t you let me take a look at those cuts?”

“They aren’t a big deal. I’ve had worse. If you still give a damn when we get to the Academy, I’ll let you look over them there, okay?”

“Fine. I doubt you’ll manage to get a major infection before then.”

“You still haven’t answered the question about how you ended up in Starfleet.”

“Long story, but to summarize it? Don't get married."

That got a chuckle out of Kirk.

"Took you for a ride, did she?"

"More like for a drag. Witch took anything I could have ridden. Looking at me, you see the sum total of the possessions I have left to my name. She took the land that had been in my family for six generations, the house, the money, hell – she even laid claim to my medical tools down to my grandfather’s old stethoscope. If she could've figured out a way to have taken my bones, she'd have taken them too and made them into a wind chime by now."

McCoy took another drink and reoffered the flask again to Kirk, who again accepted it. From his vantage point, Pike sat back and considered. The thought of his toy and Puri's toy hitting it off had never even crossed his mind. In fact, one of his major concerns about Kirk was the fact that he didn't buy that Kirk's step-father's death was an accident any more than Puri believed McCoy's ex-wife's lovers deaths were all coincidental. So a roommate that Kirk didn't get along with was apt to have a very short lifespan.

He couldn't hear what the two were talking about, but just the act of drinking out of the same flask was more than he expected that Kirk would do. He continued to watch them. Whatever Kirk and McCoy were talking about, it was apparently enough to take McCoy's mind off of where he was because the doctor's body language was considerably less tense.

Eyes lighting up in amusement as a thought occurred to him, Pike accessed the computer system and used his access to enter the Academy database. It took him less than two minutes to alter the room assignments to make McCoy and Kirk roommates, adding his own code to the assignment to assure no-one else altered it.

Starting to chuckle to himself, he placed a call.

“I’m on my way home, Raj. You are never going to believe what I’ve got to tell you when I get there.”


End file.
